A world we dare to imagine

Rebuilding Futures is an organization dedicated to providing natural disaster relief efforts to low- and middle-income countries. We aim to accomplish this by partnering up with The Red Cross and The United Nations to develop a preparedness plan for disaster relief. With this, we plan to educate and train the people so that they will be prepared and have the knowledge to adequately respond to natural disasters they are prone to. Our goal is to target low- and middle-income countries because 90% of natural disaster deaths occur in these areas. Most deaths occur in these countries since they do not have sufficient funds to support affected populations effectively.

Natural disasters not only cause physical damages, but they can also cause health issues in the affected population. Damages to infrastructures can leave civilians without access to clean water and shelter. Food sources may become unavailable and cause survivors to be malnourished. Affected populations are forced to move to crowded camps, which are prone to the spread of communicable diseases like influenza, malaria, and tuberculosis.

Our goal for Rebuilding Futures will focus heavily on educating the government and locals about the importance of being prepared. We plan to educate the workers that will be participating in the relief so that they will have full knowledge of how to tackle the situation and save the most lives, prevent illness, and prevent disability.

The Blue Sweater Post 3

In 2001, Jacqueline and her team modeled a business plan to create a company called Acumen Fund, which has a similar concept to a venture capitalist. Acumen Fund is different because they enforce the idea of making a difference in the world. They inform investors that they are investing in products that will make a positive impact on those whose who do not have much. Her institution invests in visionary entrepreneurs that are trying to create a solution to help those in poverty. She would assist these entrepreneurs by helping them to create a business plan, hire the correct employees, and link them to the target markets. The overview is to help these entrepreneurs so that they can make a positive impact in the world.

There are many problems that people in poverty face, but with Acumen Fund, Jacqueline is trying to implement change by offering solutions to their pains. This positive impact gives the less fortunate the ability to improve their lives and it also shows that there are people who are willing to help them. I think that this will inspire others to join her group and help grow her company.

The Blue Sweater Post 2

As Jacqueline's prepares for her philanthropy workshops, she makes a trip to Cambodia to meet a Buddhist monk name Maha Ghosananda. Jacqueline values the work that he has done and wants to learn more about it so that she can share it with the world. Through their conversation, Jacqueline is trying to understand the answers that Maha is giving her, but she is slightly confused. Near the end of their conversation Maha tells her, "If you move through the world only with your intellect then you walk on only one leg. If you move through the world only with your compassion then you walk on only one leg. But if you move through the world with both intellect and compassion, then you have wisdom." If found this quote to be quite interesting because it shares the idea that a person cannot only be intellectual to have wisdom, but we also have to show others compassion. Both ideas go hand in hand and generally reveals to us that having wisdom is not based on how smart you are. I think that this quote is very meaningful and illustrates an approach that people should take on. Moreover, with this new point of view, Jacqueline is able to get a better understanding of how to run her philanthropy workshops.  

The Blue Sweater Post 1

In the The Blue Sweater, Jacqueline Novogratz points out a few struggles that the people in Rwanda face, many of them are low income families and are only trying to make a living with what the have. It is difficult for these people to expand out of their communities because they do not have a vast amount of opportunities that they can undergo. Jacqueline is stationed to work in Rwanda, where she teaches the women how to invest their money and also creates small bank accounts for them. By doing this Jacqueline teaches them the importance of money management. I think that this is a great opportunity because by educating other, you are giving them the chance to break out of poverty and allows them to learn how to make a better living.

In my opinion, Jacqueline is making a significant impact on the lives of these people. She is giving them an opportunity to succeed. I think that this is something that should be encouraged among others.

Small Business Expo in Los Angeles

Last week on November 5th, I had the opportunity to attend the Small Business Expo at the California Market Center. It was about fifteen minutes away from campus. This was a trade show that displayed a wide range of small businesses near the Los Angeles area. A majority of the companies that attended the events offered a service rather than a product. For example, there was a company that was offering digital marketing services, advertising through social media, and website management. There was also a company that was offering information technology consulting services. The various companies informed potential customers about their services and explained a little about their companies and what their main goals.

Moreover, I felt that some of the companies that I networked with were lacking understanding about the companies they were working for. A few of them were not able to answer certain questions and would have to direct my questions to another representative at the booth. From this, I learned that it is important to hire the correct candidates for your company. Workers need to have a good understanding of the company and what is it that the company does. Other than this, it was a good first experience for attending a trade show. Furthermore, I was also given the opportunity to met a self-stater and he shared his experience about how he created his company called CorporateFilming.net. It was great to hear the different challenges he faced and how he overcame them. He was able to succeed because he truly believed in his product and had a strong passion for filming.

Overall, this was great learning experience. If anyone is interested in going into a specific industry, I would recommend going to a trade association first because it gives you the opportunity to see different companies in the industry. You can learn from theses companies and see what new products or services being offered. This ultimately provides you with a better understanding of the industry and gives a clear view of the potential competitors.

An Interview with Michael Spence

In this interview, Michael Spence brings up an interesting topic. He describes the relationship between technology and our thinking capacity. As new technology is being introduced into our society, he feels that this is unnecessary. There is nothing wrong with the technology, but it has to due with our capacity to control the technology. In a sense, he is trying to say that technology nowadays is taking over our will. Some individuals are consumed by technology and spend countless hours on it. He states that we have not developed "the inner discipline, the inner strength, to know when to use the possibilities and when they've become destructive," I think we need to realize and identify our internal strength. Developing discipline can allow one to overcome the internal conflict that technology can bring. We cannot allow technology to consume our lives.

The Genius of Money Chapter 15

Ralph Waldo Emerson (the American transcendentalist) talks about the moral challenges of accumulating wealth and the forces that money bears. He mentions that some people are "born to own" and others are not because their owning is not graceful; it seems to be a compromise within their own self. During his time, he was beginning to feel the force of money within his culture and work environment. Emerson was able to identify that land holders, bankers, and emerging industrialists were accumulating wealth through their ownership of land and capital.  However, he questioned "Who should be given the right of the use and distribution of that wealth?" Emerson recognized that money has now become the new natural resources. In his eyes, a person with high moral integrity will be able to determine if he or she can administer the use of wealth. 

Furthermore, Eva Hoffman (a Polish immigrant, who moved to Canada at the age of thirteen, and then to America) viewed ones identity on the influence of both material and cultural circumstances. Bloom brings in great reference to this point. He mentions that in today's society, media has played a big role in shaping the identity formation on the younger generation. The media bombards us with material items that will give us a higher status in life, but that is not being true to ones self. Bloom states, "I would think of myself as a brand rather than a self, an image rather than its source," I find this quote interesting because being materialistic can cloud us to think clearly and distracts the true focus of our main goals.Hoffman mentions that we should look beyond the material and focus on the spiritual perspective of life.